Induction of Transient Proteinuria, Hematuria, and Glucosuria by Ethanol Consumption in Japanese Alcoholics

Abstract

Urinalysis was carried out in 231 inpatients with alcohol dependence syndrome (215 males and 16 females). Fifty-nine patients (25.5%) showed proteinuria, 97 (42.0%) showed glucosuria, and 62 patients (26.8%) showed hematuria on admission. A total of 135 out of 231 patients (58.4%) showed abnormal urinalysis. Proteinuria was related to high blood pressure, high serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, uric acid, and triglyceride levels, and high urinary amylase concentration. Glucosuria was related to high serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase concentration and a history of gastrectomy. Hematuria was related to high age and high urinary amylase levels. By chi-square test, there was a significant correlation between proteinuria and hematuria (p < 0.001) and between hematuria and glucosuria (p < 0.001), but no correlation was found between proteinuria and glucosuria. The incidence of diabetes mellitus was 10.8% (25 out of 231 patients), but transient hyperglycemia was observed in some patients without diabetes mellitus on admission. Elevated hemoglobin A1, hemoglobin A1c, and fructosamine concentrations were observed in patients with either impaired glucose tolerance or transient hyperglycemia, which suggested the presence of persistent hyperglycemia before admission. On discharge, only 12 out of 198 patients (6.1%) showed abnormal urinalysis. We report that heavy ethanol consumption induces transient abnormal urinalysis results in Japanese alcoholics.